A CRUISE ship with 1,373 passengers on board suffered engine failure off the west coast of Norway on Saturday, sparking an arduous evacuation in treacherous conditions.

The cruise ship Viking Sky suffered an engine failure in windy conditions off the Norwegian west coast on Saturday. The ship had 1,373 passengers on board and on Sunday, 479 people had been airlifted safely to land by five helicopters. The vessel suffered engine trouble and sent out a mayday around 1pm GMT on Saturday near Hustadvika in More og Romsdal. The ship has now safely arrived in the Norwegian city of Molde with passengers heard screaming "we made it" while waving to the crowds welcoming them.

Mr Flusend told Norwegian broadcaster NRK: “The weather had settled in the area now. The waves are currently around four to five meters high, and the weather is expected to improve as the day goes by.”

The ship was carrying 915 passengers, of whom “a large number” were from the United States and Britain, according to the rescue services.

According to a local rescue coordination some 17 injured passengers had been taken to hospital, while others suffered minor cuts and bruises.

Norwegian Odd Roar Lange was in the area on Saturday and could see the ship from land.

Mr Lange said: “The ship may be able to get a little further out from land and go northwest in a slow speed.”

One passenger said: "We were having lunch when it began to shake. Window panes were broken and water came in. It was just chaos.

“The trip on the helicopter, I would rather forget. It was not fun.”

Cruise ship EVACUATION: 1,300 people are currently being evacuated from Viking Sky (Image: EPA)

The Viking Sky, built in 2017, belongs to Viking Ocean Cruises, part of the Viking Cruises group founded by Norwegian billionaire Torstein Hagen.

According to the company’s website, its passenger capacity is 930.

Multiple people have gathered to follow the dramatic rescue at Hustadvika.

The Norwegian People’s Aid have also confirmed they have been called out to assist the evacuation.

Operational manager Rune Toven told Norwegian paper VG on Saturday: “We are on our way with a crew of 15 people, ready to assist with the evacuations.”

Tor Andre Franck at the Møre og Romsdal police district said the ship "suffered engine failure" and are having "problems with the propulsion".

Cruise ship EVACUATION: A rescue operation is currently taking place (Image: EPA)